This is my 700th blog entry, I can hardly believe it! To celebrate, let's have a door prize! I would like to give away one signed copy of my Beeswax Collage DVD. Just add a short comment to this post below (how about telling me your plans for the weekend or if posting on Monday -- what you did this weekend) and I'll do the drawing on Monday evening! Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! Have a great weekend :)

EDITED SATURDAY6:30PM: Wow you guys! this is so much FUN reading about all your weekend plans! I am loving all your comments. I sat here reading them with a big smile on my face. Love, love love hearing about what you guys are up to. Paul and I did gardening all day, we have lots and lots of flower beds so we weeded weeded and now we are tired! Now it's time for Thai food and maybe a Netflix movie (the Valet). See you later!

EDITED MONDAY 9:00PM EST: THE WINNER IS ROBYN VICKERS! YAY! Robyn, send me an email with your address and I will send out your DVD! thank you to everyone for playing!

I am going to do a little crafting. Hopefully sew some flannel blankies. I want to try and finish knitting a purse to list on etsy. Hang with the kids. Enjoy the crisp fall weather we are having in OH. Cleaning, laundry, oh how the list goes on! These are some of the fun things going on this weekend! Congrats on the 700th post!

This weekend I plan to have breakfast in bed, play on the computer and start some art projects!...i've been gone for three months working, and have just returned home - My DH is treating me like a queen!conniecrinwil2@yahoo.com

Congrats on #700 wow!!! It's moving day tommorrow, From one desert to another in sunny southern California. Worried about my kitties adjusting to the new place. They're indoor only kitties so should be fine in a short time. Love you blog!!

700 and still going strong!Its a holiday in Singapore today (Saturday) - Selamat Hari Raya to all your Muslim readers :) My w'end plans of playing with my new watersoluble pastels have gone down the drain as my eldest daughter has come down with measles ... and I'm futilely trying to quarantine her from the other kids! Cheers, Fayetriumph-art@hotmail.com

Wow, a DVD so cool! :) Well I'm off to my nan's house shortly, as I do every Saturday. I'm determined to get a quick game of Sims2 in and I have a class online which I shall catch up on later this PM. Sundays are round my parents house eating roast dinner - yum yum :D

My plans for the weekend: none.But I have lots of options so I can choose whatever I want. Looking at the gorgeous weather outside I think I will be going out of town for a walk in a autumn-forest.Or ride my bicycle along the canals of Amsterdam.Or sit on my balcony in the sun and read some magazines and books.....

This weekend? In a quest for balance, I recently decided weekends were "friends and family" since I found I was devoting way too much time to making beads and not enough to things like answering postal letters and emails from friends, sending friends surprises in the mail, calling loved ones, and spending time with friends and family! So I hope to do some of that.

Unfortunately, I *do* have to work since I have a deadline, but I think it'll be okay since it's something I can do out of my studio and on the laptop. I plan on stealing a day from the week to make up for any time lost today and tomorrow.

Hockey game this afternoon (1st game of the season for my youngest son!) and birthday party tomorrow for my sister's boyfriend. The rest of the time split between hanging out with the family and in my very own brand new space. I'm not an artist so calling it a studio is a stretch. It's just a room with only my stuff in it. ;-)

well - unfortunately, we're working on the house all weekend (putting in new floors) - what would I rather be doing...well, sewing, making cards, painting, scrapbooking, watching TV, or even playing more on the computer - gotta run before they notice I'm gone

Oh BOY!!! I would love to be entered into the drawing!! We went to the theater last evening and saw The Wedding Singer. It was much better than I expected, but I was SERIOUSLY annoyed and the idiot behind me and his wife, who had to comment on everything going on, and also sing along. Some people are SO RUDE. I was so close to turning around and asking him to be quiet, but I could tell he was probably the kind of person who would just make a scene. Unfortunately, today I am semi-working (monitoring system changes) from home, but hope to include a bit of creativity somehow.

On Saturday, we are taking Liam to the pumpkin patch to see the headless horseman ride again! What a great illustration that would make... hmmm... now I know what I am doing on Sunday. As always, I have fun looking at your blog and seeing what you are doing next.

My family gets together four times a year for themed parties. This weekend, I'm hosting a spooky Halloween party. Everyone's wearing a spooky costume (witch, ghost, etc) and we're going to eat on a table lined with glittered skulls and bones (courtesy of Martha Stewart crafts). We're also going to paint tiny jack-o-lanterns.

Sorry to hear about your migraines. I've had them for almost 20 yrs and can sympathize! I don't know how you're so productive with the headaches. I know they can drain your energy! I've been to 2 flea markets today and will be going back again in a while. I plan to finish some ATC's this afternoon for a group I belong to. We're having an ATC open house tomorrow to recruit new members!

Hi Claudine:I own this DVD of yours (actually I own all three that you created), and ADORE all of your DVDs and books, not to mention the class I was fortunate to take with you at Artfest many moons ago. I hope you will developing more DVDs (because yours are my favorite (and I buy a lot of DVDs from creative catalyst productions). I am also looking forward to new books from you as well. I loved your segment on Martha Stewart and am so happy and excited for you that you were on Martha's program. Thank you for all you do for our art community---your guidance and inspiration means so much. Lastly, thank you again for your help last year when I was so heartbroken over the loss of my bunny. It is so good to get updates on Toby and Stanley--they are so lovely. I am so sorry for the stressful neurology visit you just had---sending you big hugs and much gratitude.Julie (No. Calif).

Hi Claudine,Doing the last of the season yard sales this morning. Found some fun fabric and vintage aprons at a church sale!Relax this afternoon, maybe start sewing some Xmas presents later on. Glorious weather here in Northeast.I check in on your blog everyday.Pat pem_3@yahoo.com

My grandparents are visiting from California, so we took them to a local apple orchard and picked some apples as well as pumpkins. Tonight we're all going out to dinner with them as well as my husband's family, so it should be a lot of fun.

Congratulations on the 700th post. As a new blogger, 700 seems almost unreal.This weekend has been very busy. We had our local flower show yesterday (it is spring in New Zealand) and we also had to fit in some horse riding lessons, so today I'm enjoying a house full of flowers and hopefully some time for myself. http://corrinesart.blogspot.com

That is a whole lot of posts!! Congratulations! I just finished a tag book so I need to dig out my studio this weekend so I can think of a new project and mess it up again! My goal is to use up some of the stuff I have been saving forever!

Hi Claudine!Happy 700th post!The weekend plans are a soccer game for my 5 year old on Saturday and a birthday party for my 13 year old brother in law Sunday afternoon. Somewhere in between there will be fun times with my family and hopefully some art time.Hope your weekend is great!happymommykasie (at) yahoo.com

today was a great saturday - my daughter and i went christmas shopping all day! we checked out martha stewart's line at macy's and got a few treats for our own kitchen. tonight our whole family is going to her school to see the secret garden performed. hope you are having a great saturday too, claudine!

You're so much fun, Claudine !! Let's see....this weekend is working at the food stand at the school Fun Fair on Saturday and then Sunday means teaching Sunday School and then cheering on the Bears! Have a great weekend ! Nancymycollageart@gmail.com

Hi Claudine,Love your blog. Wow 700 posts, well done.Its spring here in Australia so this weekend its time to plant the tomatoes, lettuce, spring onions and sweet basil. Its great to have fresh produce to pick for our summer salads.

700 posts! Congratulations! Let's see...this morning I paid bills, then went to the post office, bank, and the Pure Gardner to buy pumpkins, gourds, and icicle pansies, then did a little antiquing at a favorite haunt. Hubby and I are going to a little diner in the country where they have the best homemade rib dinner on Saturday night. This is the closest he gets to a home cooked meal. email is ldyintmoon@aol.com

The weather has finally turned cooler here in Virginia, so I have the windows open and a cool breeze blowing through the house while I work on art and craft items for a local craft show in November. Since the show is only a few weeks away this is pretty much what my life looks like for the next four weeks. :)

I have your books, but I just found your blog! Guess I'm a little slow... lol! Congrats on the 700 posts!! This weekend? I worked today, I'm off tomorrow, and right now DH's watching the OU football game. :) Have a great one!

what a great reason to celebrate Claudine! oh, and what interesting readers you have - love the Halloween doings, need the inspiration to get my fun stuff out. Will have to tune out those on to Christmas already or I'll be overwhelmed!

We are having a rare rainy spell of about 24-30 hrs. so broccoli potato chowder was perfect for last night. Watching the sky to decide if we can grill out tonight. Rain also made it a slow enough day to allow for checking the news on a nasty freeway accident north of L.A. and pondering how/if it will affect hubby's business responsibliites, then hunt for our college football game to no avail. So we ran a couple of errands and waded through our mail instead.

maybe it all calls for Sunday breakfast out?! we'll see!!! all the best from here, enjoy!

Went to my kids school's fall fair today - spent, or rather, donated, too much money for the games, and on raffles. But it was all worth it, because I had donated a quilt I made for the raffles and I won it back! How is that for Karma? lol!

When I need a bit of whimsy I know to check your blog! Thanks for all 700 posts! I just got back from my LSS where I taught a canvas collage class to a great bunch of artists. Now I'm just waiting for my DH to get home with a puppy he's rescued...gotta love a man with a big heart...but we already have 3 dogs! Anybody out there need a four legged cuddle buddy? Church and rest tomorrow, and maybe I'll look for the surfaces in my studio...I know they're here somewhere!?!

Hi Claudine - This weekend, as usual, I will be going to soccer games both days to watch my daughter play. Other than that, I'll be working in the yard, doing some artwork and catching up on DVR shows I taped during the week.Nina

WOW!!! Congrats on your 700th post!!! So cool! As far as weekend plans, it's a bit dreary up here in NY so we've been staying in a lot. My poor 9 mo. old has a cold or it's teething symptoms and I've been wiping her nose all weekend! LOL Fun!!! We went to the mall today for some time out of the house and played with all the books in Borders. Tomorrow is church and rest and relaxation!!

I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog and your art of course! I think I'm going to have you do another Poppit sketch for us at Christmas!!

Happy anniversary! 700 posts is an accomplishment. I just started blogging and only have about 15 posts. I have been following your work since my last BD when I received your DVD Collage Textures and Techniques. I have been pretty sick the past month so my weekend plan is to just start eating again. I made a tuna noodle casserole today that is a good start. My email address is vseverin62@gmail.com. Crazymomquilts.blogspot.com is also offering a drawing for her anniversary. Busy weekend for bloggers.

Well, the weekend is half over so I can give you a little of both. Middle son's hockey game this afternoon. He got 1 goal and 1 assist. Then we watched the Penguin's while eating pizza and breadsticks. Tomorrow...less hockey, more yard work. New picket fence out front! :)

My artwork is needing a little something and I think beeswax is just the thing. Fingers crossed.700! I just posted #400.xoDi

700th Blog!! Congrats! Today was the best day! I spent time with my Aunt who shared family photos of my ancestors. It was wonderful! I've started to make collages on canvas of my family for my new home and these pictures that mean so much will be a great addition. My favorite photos are of my Dad returning from WWII in his uniform and my Grandma & Aunt as a little girl standing in a wheat field. :) Watching SNL now. Have a restful weekend.

I love love love your art work and I was trying to purchase your dvd's before unsuccessfully (I wasn't living in the States) but now I'm here until the end of November and I think your DVD would be one of the greatest birthday gifts I could receive (October the 20th will be my 27 birthday).

Yay 700 posts! I think I've read them all! Today I worked on illustrations of sea turtles and fish, mailed a print of one of my paintings to London, went to the store with my family...and walked the dog. It's cold and windy here in Alaska.I wish I was weeding flower beds in Florida right about now!

Wow 700! that is great! Congrats....I haven't been feeling that well so haven't done too much this weekend...hope to get out for some sunshine today thought! Keep on blogging! I have 2 of your DVD's now...and would love to add this one to my collection!

I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend! Although it's actually next week. Went to an art show, watched 2 movies, had a fancy dinner out, and saw the play Glengarry Glen Ross, one of my favs. Today, a long bath. :-)

Hello! I had a mommy break this weekend. I taught a class on how to collage frames in a Halloween theme on Friday. On Saturday I scrapbooked with my sisters allday- then went out for Japanese food. My stomach is killing me today but it was worth it..LOL!

Well, my weekend so far was better than the past two since I had horrible headaches two weekends in a row! I had a pajama day and didn't leave the house! I gessoed pages in a couple of books and covered a couple of composition books, watched "Surf's Up" with my boys, and then ended up watching "The Ultimate Gift" by myself before bed. All the regular life stuff of dishes, making food for everyone, etc... in between time. Today, I'll be going to church but have no plans for the afternoon. Something laze since someone in my neighborhood decided to start a blasting loud party at 11:00 last night that even had the walls of my house vibrating... and the party was not even on my street but not even on my side of the block! Not sure where it was but it was awful. I saw my next door neighbor get in his car and head the direction of the party so I know he complained. It did get better shortly after that but now I'm tired. Have a great weekend!

700 posts that amazing! Thanks for sharing so much creativity with us all.

This weekend, well yesterday I hit the sewing machine for some creative fun. Today was supposed to be a wonderful walk with DH in a wood filled with Autumn colour but we had a silly arguement and he decided to take off without me so it's time to lift my spirit looking through some creative blogs!

I am "fall" cleaning inside (since I did not have time in the spring)in between making miniature pendants with my favorite embellishment, diamond glaze! Doesn't everything look better under synthetic, shiny stuff! Like everyone else I love your blog!

700 posts! WOWEE - that's amazing Claudine!!! Unfortunately, I have been consoling my best friend this weekend, as her mom passed away suddenly. However yesterday, I did find time to do some wedding planning things with my daughter. Today I am working on swaps and later my DH and I are going see Queen Elizabeth, the Golden Years. It's a pretty full weekend for me!

congrats on 700 posts...this weekend, my husband, my two boys (2 and nearly 5) and my parents went to a golf club for sunday lunch with some of my parent's friends. there's a dress code for men (jacket and tie) and my husband doesn't really have those kinds of clothes. he ended up wearing a really nice pair of pale brown trousers, dark brown shirt, borrowed a jacket from my dad and a tie he has had since he was 14 (he's now 33) talk about 80's retro! he looked like he was trying to be a trendy art teacher, but failing badly. but the funniest thing happened when we got there, one of the friends is an old chap of 85, and he was wearing the same tie! how we all laughed :)

Hi Claudine!Thank you for posting a contest!! (I work well under pressure! ha!)It's a beautiful weekend here in North Idaho and we plan to take full advantage of it! I went kayaking while my husband cut "his" grass (he loves his grass), then we stretched out on the newly cut and manicured lawn with our basset hound, Cleo, and watched the few clouds go by. it was fun...the kind of stuff you do when you are dating (and we've been married 22 years this wed.) then later we watched a movie (Premonition), strange but good - and today we are bike riding with our son and his girlfriend and Cleo. Perhaps I'll finish off the weekend by playing around in my craft room and c r e a t i n g!! (My favorite way to end a fun day!)I hope you and your hubby have a great weekend too in that beautiful Florida sunshine!Thanks! Shari www.sharif4@verizon.net

Hi Claudine.. it's Sunday afternoon and I'm just getting a moment to check blogs at bloglines... I have sewn this weekend and knitted a hat for my little boy. A few visits here and there and good meals throughout, and we've had a packed weekend! ;)

Friday - I didn't have much work to do, so I went ahead and cleaned the house. No, it doesn't sound like fun...but that way it is clean for the whole weekend and not looming over my head like something I NEED to do, but don't want to.

Friday night - Out on the town with my boyfriend. Playing pool, having a couple drinks, snacking on popcorn.

Saturday - Playing tennis (I lost, 3 to 6), visiting whole foods market, taking our dog to the dog park for a good round of fetching.

Saturday night - watched a movie while he watched his Red Sox lose.

Sunday - Brunch this morning. Yum. Plan to lounge the rest of the day. okay, and maybe shopa little.

Hi Claudine! I love your blog!...we went to a small country wedding yesterday...sweetest couple ever...then got lost in the country for 2 hours trying to find our way back home!! Came across many forest friends and dark winding roads, but thanks to 911 we are home...lol...today I am doing absolutely nothing:)

Congrats on so many posts! This weekend I'm going on a hiking date with my husband, making our family Christmas cards, doing a photo shoot of mty 7 year old and his 8week old puppy, making split pea soup and home made bread for dinner Sunday, hopefully scrapbooking, and trying to squeeze in a nap or other relaxation time. Thanks for your inspiration!

700th post? I can't even start a blog. I soon hope to have one, and give fun things away as you are.. but that day is not to-day so - WEEKEND: Practically over. But what I did do on Saturday was:Slept in. Something I hardly get to do, but when it does happen.. I love it! Awoke to a phone call, for help, from my sister. The washing machine decided to overflo with water & ended up flooding the basement, so I threw on my puddle boots and arrived. Penguin pajama pants and all, to help. Today (Sunday) was much different. I headed down to Memorial Field in Concord, New Hampshire & participated in the walk for Breast Cancer. We raised SO MUCH MONEY! $492,616 dollars!!! Such a good feeling to be a part of something so big. The walk was a good 5 miles, and it was a georgeous day - a day that was perfect for a walk with the Mulleavey Marchers! Take care. Trust me my fingers are crossed! Anything from you would be a super sweet suprise! Good luck! megnpaquette@gmail.com

i have just come back from a wedding in the beautiful countryside here in the UK. The wedding united all my friends in a job I left a few years back - a charity for people with disfigurements - one of the most inspiring places and fantastic people. I shall remember everyone dancing to cheesy music, the look on the grooms face as the bride walked up the aisle and the great friends I have. What a great weekend

Love your blog! Love your artwork! I just sent one of your postcards to my brother and his wife for their wedding anniversary. Too cute! Hope they enjoyed their ride in the "love boat"!Yesterday I spent the entire day, (well into the night) helping my grown son set up his new etsy website to sell his photography. Whew! What a lot of work! Gave me a deeper appreciation for all the effort you bloggers put into your sites! Despite the aggravation I enjoyed spending the rare moments with him. Check him out at NicksPics! (I know, I'm a shameless Mommy!)

Hi, Claudine... I celebrated my birthday this weekend. I turned 39, again! I spent time with a good friend on Friday. Had dinner out with my guy Saturday. And attended my nephew's baptism today. Now it's time to watch a little football and relax. My favorite show is on tonight: Brothers & Sisters (have you been watching it? Gotta love Rob Lowe!).Denisedenise_mares@fibersphere.net

Well we had an exciting weekend. On Saturday we had a guy come out with a backhoe and dig up our septic tank. Oh joy! LOL. Now it looks like we have a big grave in our front yard as we wait for the "poop" truck (as my son calls it) to "refresh" our tank! LOL. Ah, country living!Sunday we had our chimney swept. Do we live on the edge or what?!! Finally on Sunday afternoon we got go out to my cousins house for a huge family party. It was all decked out of halloween and the kids had a blast! In keeping with the general "entertainment" of the weekend, we were there celebrating the engagement of my cousin's daughter to a wonderful man. She's 20, he's 50. Who says life isn't interesting?xoxooxoxoSusan Chongbeegsmachine@yahoo.com

Congratulations on your 700th post! Your blog is so fun to ready and always brightens my day. I didn't do much. I was able to sleep in on Saturday (bliss!), played with my son, made cards for my card exchange and attended a 'stamp of the month' demo. I had a wonderful weekend! Hope you did too!

Hi Claudine!... I hope I win because I need the 'win joy'!!! I spent my weekend looking at all my favorite sites(yours, Lesley Riley's, and all the links)ane asking myself why am I not 'making things'...? I think I'm sad. It's hard to pull away from it. On the upside... I'm feeling really creative and that feeling energizes me. Love what you do!birdi

hi claudine and happy weekend and cheers to your 700th post! we were busy all day yesterday with house cleaning before going to the great american beer festival, oy! then today i was pouty all day because we were suppose to go to our annual tradition at the pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkins but it rained/drizzled all day and the temps have dropped here in colorado - brrrr! the patch will be reopened next weekend though - whew! have a great week! hugs, rachel

Hi Claudine! I love to look at your collage arts! Hmm, well this weekend I went to my hometown for an art show. I also had a wonderful evening with my boyfriend drinking coffee and talking :)....low key and my favorite kind!

Congratulations on 700 posts! I spent my day planning a color theory class for my high school students. My family tried a new restaurant for dinner--crowded and fun. I had a great time looking at Jasper Johns' work in prep for my classes.aidelknaidel@gmail.com

Congratulations on 700 posts! Wow!! It is Monday so I can tell you that I had a lovely creative weekend - I cut and sewed some fabric postcards, did the preparation for another set based on fabric paper, got totally stuck on making a triptych inchie style, painted heaps of backgrounds, experimented bleaching some fabrics and made double choc chip muffins for the males of the family! It's spring here so I also went for a wander around the local Spring Festival with a friend. I love weekends! Back at work today..

PS Love your art and your blog too, it has given me a lot of enjoyment over the years!

Claudine,Your blog is the bestest!There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not checking in. Such a great inspiration for me!Your health (migranes) is on my prayer list, as I was a former migrane sufferer! YEUCK!!!Friday, cards with my parents.Saturday, netflix...Evan AlmightySunday, church, and stamping!!!what an exciting weekend!!!whoopeee!Reneekookachoo@sbcglobal.net

Hi Claudine, What a great idea. This weekend my daughter came home from college for the first time this freshman year. I hadn't seen her for 7 weeks, the longest we've ever been apart. It has been pure joy. Making a cake, having friends over to celebrate, having a feast, reading and laughing together, playing with the cats. She will go back on Tuesday and thank goodness I have my art to turn to.

I hope I'm not too late to be in the running!! Last weekend mmmmmSaturday had to get feedback from a friend on a pictorial map I had done for my childrens school. Worried over it a lot but got the thumbs up! Sat. arvo had people calling in for drinks who had never seen our house before.....Oh the pressure of a clean house for that first time visit!Went well, then out for tea. Hostess made double the lemon delicious pudding recipe which turned out way too much but the four of us just kept eating till it was gone!! What troopers.Sunday- Hubby off sailing so a day home with the kids. Made a great pressie for a friends new baby. Its a bit Lyn whipple style I reckon. come by and have a look!I get migraines too but not 3 or 4 a week I don't know how you achieve so much with them so frequent. I hope if you do go through with the tests it shows something that can help.I am planning this term to take your advice in just creating an artwork on any old paper each day and just go for it to find a new direction. Feeling like a need a good kick in the seat with my creative mojo!!

here's to 700 more great posts! this weekend i finally had time to hit up several local thrift stores. sadly, i didn't find many exciting treasures. i did get to spend some quality time with my mom. and my beloved texas tech red raiders beat the snot out of the texas a&m aggies. woohoo! :)

You inspire me and COUNTLESS others with all that you bring to your art!

For me & dh it was red sox red sox RED SOX friday and saturday night. Made a pot roast in my crock pot, took a nice 1.5hr hike in the woods together and squeezed in some time to work on 2 skinny book challenges!

This weekend I worked on cleaning my studio on Saturday all day and then on Sunday I taught a class of 4 ladies how to make pumpkin rolls! They had been at one of my earlier art and tea parties where I served it, and asked if I would teach a class on how to bake them. We had a great time, and munched happily away enjoying the new vanillia chai tea while we waited for the pumpkin rolls to cool.

wow Claudine, that's amazing!! I don't always comment, but I read just about every day...I may be too late for the prize, but Saturday was my home chores day, and Sunday I went to a wedding brunch overlooking the Mohawk River and fall foliage in gorgeous (but chilly- okay in your world freezing) upstate NY. The mostly vegetarian buffet was a cheese lover's delight - baked brie, several kinds of cheese-laden quiche, a to-die-for artichoke dip, blintzes, fruit, potato pancakes w sour cream and apples, etc... the rest of the day was spent napping, of course, after that spread!!!

Hi Claudine,Congrats on 700!I love reading your blog!Most of my time is spent at the NICU rightnow, and to lighten that news my littlegirl is doing great. It was also my niece's 16th birthday so we had birthday dinnerwith her Sunday night. Of course a napor two is slipped in there too!Carissastreetcar5@hotmail.com

My husband, two grandchildren and I went to the Feast of the Hunters Moon Festival in Lafayette, Indiana. It's a reinactment of a fur trading, Indian, and French military camp from the 1700s at the location of an old French fort. It was a lot of fun seeing people dressed in costume of the period. And I actually found a couple things to use in my artwork - beeswax candles and a set of reproduced 16th century German playing cards (too cool!).

Congrats on your 700! Alrighty, here was my weekend: Inlaws were in town so I spent a lot of time drinking wine and laughing with them. Went to the Russian Art Museum in Minneapolis and saw a FANTASTIC artist's paintings - Geli Korzhev. And when I wasn't hanging out with the parents, I was a crocheting/sewing maniac. Also watched "All the President's Men" and "Basquait". So there you have it. :)

I went to bootcamp bright and early Saturday morning followed by a trip to Michael's for some art supplies and Bath and Body Works for some fun smelly shower gels and then home to spend the rest of the day helping a friend learn to scrapbook - she is doing a scrapbook for her sister which consists of her sister's children - all of them precious and cute kitty cats! Sunday I got ready to launch my Southern Living at HOME business and spent time with my new husband and my two kiddos. We had storms all night Sunday night and into Monday morning and the thunderstorms are so welcome and I love them. It's now Monday and it's back to work as usual!

Well, you've got quite the competition going here for the prize. I had a lovely weekend in Chicago! I'm from Kansas City, so Chicago is the best big city that's nearby to visit. I've been about 4 times, but this was the first time I've ever had such a fantastic shopping experience. I went up north by myself yesterday (wandering around an unfamiliar city alone is about my favorite thing to do) and shopped along Armitage. Wonderful boutique shopping. I recommend if you're there any time soon.

I went to NYC with a bunch of my crafter friends to see "Grease" on Broadway and we had lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner, where all the waitstaff are extras in the shows, working for their big break. They sing and dance in between taking and serving your order. Very cool! I took a ton of photos, of course; at one point, I actually told someone, "Hey, work with me here! I'm a scrapbooker!"

Well, hope you got a while, because my weekend was crazy! It was beautiful here in Western Washington (probably the last weekend like that for while!). We painted inside & outside the house, finished a tile project, mowed the lawn, cleaned the gutters, got rid of some yard waste & wrote a paper for class! Phew...had to take a break from the weekend & get some rest at work! :)

Hi Claudine!Hope you are doing well! We look forward to seeing you in Bonita Springs again in February (which is right around the corner!)

This weekend I spent with my dog, Dexter going to Starbucks (they give doggie biscuits out at the one in Naples) and to the car wash, where he became a bit concerned that he might be next to get cleaned by those loud machines.

The rest of thetime was spent at the beach relaxing and enjoying the lovely weather we've been having here in Florida.

I celebrated my 54th birthday this weekend! We ate at one of those fondue restaurants called The Melting Pot and it was awesome. If you can find one in your area it is a great place to go with another couple and really "eat together" as you have to make food choices together and juggle those cute little fondue forks in the pot together!It would be so increidble to win a copy of your Beeswax Book, Claudine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.Jane Swansonj8swans@charter.net

First, 6 reversible Halloween/Day of the Dead pennants, one side with a haunted house and bats and ghosts, the other side with a skeleton lady all dressed up to dance with flowers on her head.

Second, 100+ Inchies for Art for Cures (Yahoo group) with a "Musical Italy" design and the colors of the bracelets sold to raise money for leukemia, lymphodema, and lymphoma: pale blue, lime green, and orange.

(For those who haven't run across Inchies yet, they are 1x1 inch bits of art; these were collages so not as hard to make as you'd think -- you start with a 9x12 sheet of watercolor paper and make a "close collage" on it with the musical and Italian elements and the colors very close together -- looks horrible, until you cut it up into 1x1 squares).

So on Saturday I was finishing up the pennants and on Sunday while watching football was adding whatever each Inchie needed (I had them sorted: this one needs "Blue Italy", that one "Green Music" etc.) and writing my name and email on the back! THAT was a chore.

But all in all, fun. Plus my darling son was here helping my husband put together 2 bookcases for my studio which is finally getting organized!

Claudine, your first book turned me on to collage. I've bought many many of them since, but yours made such an impression.

Sorry to hear about the migraines. My cure: get pregnant (I was blissfully headache-free until I stopped nursing and started ovulating again), or get old (now after menopause I rarely have one).

There's a lot of mythology about food -- keep an elimination diary to be sure. Some kinds of alcohol affected me but that was all. Acupuncture, biofeedback, etc. never helped. It was almost entirely due to subtle fluctuations in hormones and neurotransmitters, almost impossible to predict or control, IMO.

In my day you had to inject Imitrex -- I got to the point of DREADING that needle in my thigh. Went back to regular pain pills 'cause I just couldn't stand it any more. Then when they introduced the oral form, it gave me chest pains. Go figure...

Whew! The word for the weekend was spontaneity! Friday night sudden decision to grab two friends and eat dinner out--making sure we tried at least one new dish per person. Saturday we awoke and decided to drive an hour to a shopping outlet--NOT our usual activity but lots of success! Then more spontaneity on Saturday night when I started a mail art project. Sunday it was finishing my novel in front of the fire, then off to pick up a visiting friend at the train station. A few stops at Open Studios then more food, more time by the fire, a little bit of staring at the ocean and we were all ready for bed! I call that a GREAT weekend1 jood